Healthy Cooking Made Easy

I found a pastry dough crust in my freezer this morning and I instantly thought Chicken Vegetable Pot Pie! Much like my Leek and Mushroom Chicken Pot Pie..but just lots of veggies and chicken of course. Make a wonderful meal that has been one of my husbands favorites for years..Plus the aroma that fills your kitchen is so comforting; to me its just heaven!

Pre heat oven to 350. In a large pan on the stove top and medium high, heat 2 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp unsalted butter..add onion and garlic. Heat 2-3 minutes then add chicken. Brown chicken on both sides and add vegetables and herbs . Cook about 5 minutes, add in chicken broth and simmer. Slowly add in fat free creamer and mix well. Add cornstarch, stir in so that the mixture is slightly thicker ( add more if you want it really thick!) Season with salt,pepper and red pepper flakes Pour ingredients into large and deep casserole dish. Roll out pastry dough on top of the pie, and brush with olive oil and sprinkle reduced fat Parmesan cheese on top! Bake 35-40 minutes…Until pastry dough is cooked and browned. Serve in big bowls and Enjoy!

I bought these beautiful italian Chicken Sausages with Fennel at Joesph’s Classic Market ( where I buy all my meats, fish and produce..so fresh and inexpensive) , that I also placed in a separate baking dish, pierced with a knife and baking along with the meatballs. When sausages done cooking slice into 1-2 inch pieces and throw them into the sauce.

I am “semi” baking the meatballs and chicken sausage, so that I can put them in a Slow Cooker or Crock Pot with sauce and cook on low for about 4 hours to incorporate all the flavors….

I also bought these nests of whole wheat linguine, which i will just add to boiling water later to cook the rest of the way..And of course extra Parmesan cheese.

Very excited to make this Salmon tonite for a friend of mine who loves Salmon! Adding a little sugar and spice to make it fun!

2 servings of Salmon

3 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper

agave or honey

Mix ingredients in bowl except for agave or honey. Pre heat oven to 375. Rub in seasoning on each Salmon.. place in prepared baking dish and Bake for 35minutes. Drizzle agave nectar or honey over each fillet.

A favorite of mine, that is both sweet and spicy! 🙂 Pre heat oven 375 Use 5-6 large Cubanelle peppers and throw them in pan with olive oil on high heat and sear all over. Set aside to cool off…..Chop up one onion , 4 garlic cloves and olive oil…Cook 4 min. Add in ground chicken, cook until almost cooked thru. Add in 1 cup brown rice, 1/2 black beans, and 1 can of Rotelle tomatos. Heat thru and set aside. Cut thu peppers on one side and clean out the seeds. Spread 1-2 tbsp of low fat – fat free cream cheese. Stuff the stuffing in 🙂 Place in baking dish. Top with reduced fat cheddar cheese. Bake for 20 min. Top with low fat sour cream and enjoy! I think I might use the leftover stuffing to make burritos another nite this week.

The Monday rush is over! Wanted to make a vegetarian dish tonight to give my body a break. I could eat like a vegetarian every day ( with the exception of eggs) and not miss the meat. Its nice to give the body a break, it reduces inflammation and really allows your digestive system to regulate… Well any whoo..I used my Spaghetti Squash Casserole recipe in mind..but you know minus the meat. I have a ton of veggies from the weekend when making my Turkey Vegetable Soup…So I cooked down the tomatoes first with onions and garlic, italian seasoning , salt and pepper for about 10 mins. and then threw it into the food processor and gave it a good whirl. I let it sit there for a bit while I chopped up zucchini, squash, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and carrots. I cut some corners by cooking the spaghetti squash in the microwave, sliced in half and face down with a 1/2 cup of water. Nuked it for about 12 -15 minutes. When done removed the water and scooped out the squash int o the baking dish I used to cook it in. While it was cooking, I cooked the vegetable mixture that I chopped up and added in some Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, and 1 tsp red pepper flakes. I also had a bag of Soy crumbles on hand that I added to the mix.Cooked on the stove top for about 8 min. Then I poured on the tomato sauce I made in the food processor. Added it to the top of the spaghetti squash in the baking dish and topped with 2% Mozzarella cheese. Baked for 20 min at 375…Very good and filling with all the vegetables! I just love clean and fresh eating! It makes awesome leftovers too 🙂

Love making these turkey burgers because everyone in my family enjoys them..I always add a little pizazz to me and my husbands though! The kiddies get the All- American cheese turkey burger and “orange fries”..I mean why tell them they are Sweet Potato fries..they would never touch them! Well maybe Ronnie, he will eat ANYTHING!

Mushrooms and Onions= placed 1 container sliced mushrooms and 1 small onion sliced…1 tsp nutmeg,1 tsp thyme, 1tsp fennel seeds, olive oil salt and pepper..Can be done on the stove top or place in a aluminum foil packet~ Cook 10-15 min..Try some of the left over shrooms on my recipe for Poached Open Face Eggwich in the morning for breakfast..or dinner

Serve with toasted whole Wheat buns and a slice of low fat Swiss cheese…And of course “orange fries” 🙂 Spice them up with paprika, oregano, salt and pepper and 1 tsp cayenne pepper for mommy and daddy!

1 cup of pecans toasted in oven on baking sheet at 400 degrees then chopped up.

salt and pepper

Add olive oil to pan on med high heat. Add in shallots and garlic, cook for about 3 min. Add in pancetta and cook until the oils start to release. Put brussel sprouts in pan and cook for about 10 min, scraping bottom of pan occasionally and stiring those brussels around! Add in pecans and reduce the heat…Season with salt and pepper.

So excited to have a “mock” Thanksgiving dinner today with my parents. They are headed out of town to the mountains to enjoy the view and relax. So we have decided to gather today are share our blessings..But that also means I get to have two dinners this week..One very traditional on Thanksgiving Day and today’s is going to be my fun “gourmet” day. 🙂

Last nite I gave this beautiful 5 lb Pork Loin Roast a nice rub down and today will roast it for about 2 1/2 hours…Going to serve it with a freshCranberry and Blackberry preserve sauceon the side..( I might make it a bit spicy but I haven’t decided yet)

Placed roast in baking dish

So for the rub: 1/2 jar of molasses, 1 cup dark brown sugar, handful of whole cloves, sea salt, fresh grated nutmeg and cinnamon, 1 tsp cardamom..placed the cloves anywhere all over the roast, seasoned with salt…poured the molasses all over letting it drip down the sides too. The packed on the brown sugar, sprinkled with remaining seasonings on top. Covered with Press N Seal and then placed in fridge over nite ( over nite marination is always best, but if you do the day of..marinate for at least an hour.)

You can find the cedar planks at any gourmet store…Soak for atleast an hour in water. Heat grill to med-high. Place cedar plank on grill and close cover, heat for 3 min. Flip over cedar plank and then place salmon on planks..cover and cook for about 10-12 min…. 🙂 Let sit for 5 min loosely covered with foil

I’m serving up sides of skewers of grilled vegetables and Black beans and Brown Rice . I have fresh chives to chop and place on top of Salmon cooked…